http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (AP) -- Authorities in California took the unusual step of jailing and charging a tuberculosis patient who they say refused to take medication to keep his disease from becoming contagious. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-tb-patient-calif-meds.html Other Wed, 16 May 2012 17:27:52 EST news256408044 Up to 30% of the world's population is infected with Tuberculosis (TB), but in many areas of the world, TB diagnosis still relies on insensitive, poorly standardized, and time-consuming methods. A new diagnostic tool, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), may change that. Dr. Thomas Bodmer shows how it's done in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-tool-tuberculosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:10:06 EST news253188592 Lung diseases in the Middle East range from the centuries-old pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) to modern manifestations caused by chemical warfare. A new paper now available in Respirology, a journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, provides pulmonologists and patients with the first comprehensive review of respiratory illnesses specific to the Persian Gulf region, and the challenges in treating them. This unique review is the first of its kind in this topic and will serve as an important landmark reference article. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-highlights-respiratory-disorders-prevalent-middle.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:25:05 EST news229771282 Two studies by a team of researchers led by Luis E. Cuevas and Mohammed Yassin from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and jointly coordinated with Andrew Ramsay at WHO-TDR Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases are published in this week's PLoS Medicine. The studies have important implications for the ways in which diagnosis for the endemic infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB), can be done in poor countries. One study suggests that less sputum tests collected the same day of consultation are needed and the other suggests that a faster laboratory test can be used while maintaining the same level of accuracy for diagnosis. Both studies show that alternative, less labour-intensive tests that are more convenient for patients could be effectively used in poorer countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-alternative-methods-smear-effective-tb.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:32:44 EST news229710752 In patients with newly diagnosed tuberculosis (TB), use of a combined 4-drug fixed-dose regimen was found to have comparable outcomes to drugs administered separately, according to a study in the April 13 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on infectious disease and immunology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-combination-drug-regimen-tb-effective.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:45:33 EST news221823923